“Gimme Shelter” Shows Transformed Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens, the well-known singer and songwriter from California has always portrayed various cheerful roles in her acting career, such as Gabriella Montez in High School Musical and other roles for various shows on The Disney Channel. Soon, Hudgens will be taking on a completely opposite role for the upcoming movie “Gimme Shelter” which hits theaters later this month.

“Gimme Shelter” is a Ron Krauss film, which also stars various other well-known actors and actresses, such as: Rosario Dawson, Brendan Frazier, and James Earl Jones. IMDb describes the plot of the story as: “A pregnant teenager flees her abusive mother in search of her father, only to be rejected by her dad and forced to survive on the streets until a compassionate stranger offers a hopeful alternative.” Hudgens portrays the main character of the story, Agnes “Apple” Bailey.

According to USA Today, Hudgen’s character “Apple” is based on a real-life homeless person. When Hudgens read the script for “Gimme Shelter,” Hudgens had just come out of a breakup and said the role of the character was “just what I needed.” Hudgens also stated “Apple goes through a metamorphosis, and I had just gotten my butterfly tattoo. It just really hit home.”

USA Today also states that “Hudgens committed to the movie ‘full-force’ both physically and mentally.” To do this, Hudgens dedicated some time to staying at the Several Sources Shelter in Ramsey, New Jersey. This helped Hudgens to get to know the women living there and their stories, as well as incorporating some of their mannerisms into her character. To make her character transformation complete, Hudgens cut her hair and gained fifteen pounds, which helped give the impression that she was pregnant for the role.

In Hudgens’ video interview with USA Today, Hudgens describes how she got immersed within the role of her character, as well as working with “Sin City” actress Rosario Dawson:

During the filming of “Gimme Shelter,” Hudgens stated that she did not listen to any music or sing during the duration of her role as “Apple.” Hudgens stated “I feel that when you go through dark times, the music of your life is dull. It was kind of a muted outlook.”

Hudgens also recently tweeted when her new film “Gimme Shelter” will start airing in theaters.